Plasma:
Plasma is the blood fluid itself, it keeps water, and antibodies including other proteins in the blood. Plasma also contains fibrinogen which aids the blood in clotting. Formed elements are blood cells and fragments in the plasma. Plasma is made up of mainly water, but also nutrients, salts, plasma proteins, platelets, and blood cells.
http://www.beltina.org/pics/plasma.jpg
http://www.beltina.org/pics/plasma.jpg
Plasma Donation:
Plasma donation takes a long time. It is similar to giving blood except the blood is directed to a machine that spins the blood. The dense materials fall to the bottom, and then the blood and plasma are filtered out and separated. After they are separated the blood components are put back into the body.
http://image.funscrape.com/images/b/blood_plasma-629.jpg
http://image.funscrape.com/images/b/blood_plasma-629.jpg